Memories
by ForeverAFallenAngel
Summary: One of them has gone and all that remains are his memories. KakashixIruka.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys. Just wanted to let you know a few things about the story before you begin.

Iruka and Raidoh are both 17.

Kakashi and Genma are both about 22.

The part of the story not written italics is what is currently happening. The stuff written in italics is the memory. As soon as the part not written in italics ends the memory immediately begins. (duh. P)

Step…Step…Step...Step

His hollow footsteps echoed through the hallway. Left-right…left-right. He felt empty-hollow. It was as if his heart had been torn into a thousand pieces; all of it because _He_ was gone, never coming back, forever. He choked out a sob at the thought and stumbled.

_**BeepBeepBeep.**_

_"Yes, popcorn's done!" Iruka said leaping up from the couch and running over to the microwave. _

_Today was a great day. School had been canceled and Iruka had been told he could take the day off from his job at the Konaho Café. Therefore, he planned on making the best of his day. So far he had slept in, finished his book, and taken a walk. Now he was about to watch a movie with a nice cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of popcorn. _

_Iruka sat down and pushed play when the phone began to ring. Iruka sighed and stopped the movie. He grabbed the phone off the end table and answered "Hello?"_

_"Iruka!?" The excited whisper of Iruka's best friend, Raidoh answered. "Iruka!! Get down here NOW!! Genma is here! The one I went on a date with last night! Oh Iruka I _really _want you to meet him!"_

_Iruka smiled. Raidoh, who worked at the café with Iruka, had been going on and on about some guy who had been coming to the Konaho Café lately. Iruka had never seen this guy, but according to Raidoh this man was drop dead gorgeous. Brown hair, chocolate eyes, toned body, and a habit of chewing on a needle, was how Raidoh had described him. What was his name again? Genma? Yeah, that was it!_

_"Alright, alright I'm coming Raidoh. I'll be there in a few" Iruka replied. _

_"Hurry!" Raidoh exclaimed and hung up._

_Iruka hung up and grabbed a coat. As he walked out of his aunt's house and down the street to the café, Iruka realized it was snowing lightly. The first snow of the season. _

_When Iruka arrived at the café it was almost empty. Only a few people sat at a booth together. They all looked to be in their early twenties. One man was big, muscular, and had a big black beard. Next to the big man sat a woman with pitch black hair and bright red eyes. Across from her was a tall man with chocolate colored hair and eyes. _

'That must be Genma' _Iruka thought. _

_Last, but not least was a man with silver hair that spiked up to one side, a mask, and some sort of band that covered his left eye. Iruka paused as he caught sight of the man's toned body. This man was..._

'He's-'_Iruka never finished his thought, because the man looked up and directly at Iruka. Iruka blushed and quickly hurried over to Raidoh behind the counter, embarrassed to have been caught checking the man out. _

_Raidoh grabbed Iruka and was practically bouncing up and down with excitement "Well!? What do you think?!"_

_"I-well-um I guess he looks good" Iruka replied. _

_Raidoh grinned. "Wait until you meet him!" he exclaimed waving Genma over. Iruka saw Genma smile through his senbon and start to get up. And, to Iruka's horror, the man with the silver hair got up and followed him. Iruka started to panic. Before he could even try to make an escape though, the two men were already at the counter. Genma leaned over the counter and gave Raidoh a quick kiss before asking what was up. _

_"This is my best friend, Iruka" Raidoh said gesturing towards Iruka. _

_"Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you" Genma said offering a hand._

_Iruka took it and smiled. "I hope it was all good stuff" he replied. Genma nodded and gestured to the man with the silver hair. "This is my best friend, Kakashi" he said. Kakashi smiled and held out his hand for Iruka to shake. For a second Iruka was caught up in the stunning looks of the man again and completely forgot he was supposed to shake his hand. Not until Raidoh cleared his throat and said "Um…Iruka?" did Iruka remember. Iruka, startled from his daydreaming, jumped slightly and blushed again. He took the man, Kakashi's hand. "Nice to meet you" Iruka mumbled. _

_Kakashi chuckled. "Nice to meet you, too" he replied._

_Iruka stood, entranced; this man's voice, it was deep, smooth-_sexy. _It made Iruka forget everything around him; nothing else mattered but those deep black eyes and that, that_ voice. _So, there Iruka stood completely oblivious to the world as he stared into Kakashi's eyes. There was a moment of silence before someone cleared their throat. Iruka, startled back into reality, quickly pulled his hand away. He noticed that Kakashi did the same. Had he been staring at Iruka just like Iruka had been staring at him? _

"_Aaanyway," Raidoh said giving Iruka a look._

'Had I really been staring at him that long?' _Iruka wondered._

"_I had a great idea" Raidoh continued. "Let's all go on a double date! Iruka needs to get out more and didn't you say yourself that Kakashi needs to get out more too?" _

"_Yeah, great idea; how about I pick you and Iruka up with Kakashi tomorrow around 8:00?" Genma replied. _

_Raidoh grinned. "Perfect, see you then!" _

_Genma leaned over the counter and gave Raidoh a quick kiss before turning and leaving. Kakashi stood there for a second longer, as if he was debating whether or not to lean over the counter and kiss Iruka before leaving. Instead he went with "Later," and turned to leave. Iruka found himself wishing that Kakashi didn't have to leave just yet and that he had leaned over the counter to kiss him. _

_Just before Kakashi reached the door he turned back, looked at Iruka, and smiled. "I can't wait for our date" he said before turning and walking out the door._

_Iruka stood there for a second, replaying the sound of Kakashi's voice. Then he turned to Raidoh, figuring he should act a little annoyed at his friend for volunteering him for a date, and gave him an unconvincing glare. Raidoh just grinned. "You _liiike _him don't you!" he teased, jumping just out of reach of Iruka's playful swat. Iruka _did _like Kakashi and he, also, couldn't wait for their date. _

Thank you for reading! Please review. I love reviews! I welcome any suggestions on how to make my writing better! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can!


	2. Chapter 2

Alright. Here is the new chapter. This was co-written with my friend Cookie. Hope you like it. Review? Please?

The smell of this place nauseated him. It smelled of old people, bleach, and death. Places like these were supposed to _save_ lives not let them die away. It made him sick that they just _let _Him die. Couldn't save Him my butt! There's always something they can do! They're doctors for crying out loud!

_Iruka stood and turned left then right in front of the mirror, checking out his reflection. He sighed. The best he could do was a tight knit sweater and plain dark jeans. Pathetic. He was about to go on a date with the most gorgeous, mysterious guy he'd ever met and the best he could do was…_this._Iruka groaned. _

"_Oh yeah, this'll really impress Kakashi" Iruka muttered._

_He stood in front of the mirror gazing at his reflection and began to envision how the date would go. His mind raced over images of Kakashi smiling down at him and them walking side by side holding hands. Then a very intriguing image popped into Iruka's mind. Kakashi slowly leaned in and pulled down his mask… and then-they kissed. _

"_IRUKA!!" Iruka's aunt's voice roared. _

_Iruka's eyes snapped open and he unlocked his lips from the mirror, blushing madly from his day dreaming._

"_Yes!?" he roared back._

"_Someone is here for you!!" his aunt roared back._

_Just as his aunt called, Iruka heard the roar of a truck pull up. Finally after being a half hour late, Genma, Kakashi, and Raidoh were here to pick him up. Iruka dashed out of his room and down the stairs. As he shoved on some shoes, Iruka called to his aunt. _

"_I'm leaving!" But all Iruka received was a grunt in reply._

_Iruka's parents died when he was little. His aunt was the only living relative of Iruka's family. Therefore, she was the only one to take him in, and she was _not_ happy about it. _

_As usual, Iruka just ignored her, grabbed a coat and scarf, and flung open the door ready to race through the cold to the warm awaiting truck. Iruka was definitely _not _expecting to see Kakashi standing at the door with his hand up, ready to knock. _

"_Yo" Kakashi said smiling. _

"_Oh…hi," was Iruka's brilliant reply._

"_Come on, let's hurry. It's rather cold out here and if we don't hurry we'll be late" Kakashi said. Iruka nodded as he stepped out of the house and slammed the door behind him. When they reached the truck, Kakashi opened the back door for Iruka. Iruka blushed and muttered thanks as he slipped in next to Raidoh._

"_Hey Iruka" Raidoh greeted._

"_Hey" Iruka replied._

"_Ready?" Genma asked from the driver's seat._

"_Um, yeah, but where are we going?" Iruka asked, as he was not told what they were going to do._

_Genma turned around and grinned. "We're going to see __40 Days and 40 nights__" he replied._

_Iruka paled. That was the horror movie about vampires and werewolves joining forces to extinct the humans. Some of Iruka's friends had been terrified for days after seeing that movie. _

_Raidoh saw Iruka pale; he knew Iruka didn't handle horror movies well. "Do you want me to tell them?" he mouthed as they started to drive away._

_Iruka shook his head. He would stick this one out._

_When they arrived at the movie theater Kakashi bought some popcorn for him and Iruka to share and a couple of sodas._

"_Thanks" Iruka said, blushing as Kakashi handed him one of the sodas._

_Throughout the movie Iruka tried to avert his eyes from the scariest parts. Occasionally he jumped and squeaked in fear or surprise. About half way through the movie, Kakashi took notice of Iruka's strange behavior and wrapped his arm around Iruka's shoulder. "None of it's real" he whispered to Iruka. But none of Kakashi's reassurances helped Iruka and he still jumped when a werewolf hid and then ripped one human's head off._

_On the way out of the theater some teens in werewolf's masks jumped out from behind a wall roaring and slashing their fake claws. Iruka nearly fainted in fear. Kakashi just about punched both of the teens for scaring Iruka._

_As they drove home, Iruka just knew he'd have nightmares. Finally, they pulled up in front of Iruka's house._

"_I'll walk you up" Kakashi said getting out of the truck and opening the door for Iruka._

_Iruka just nodded. He was afraid if he said anything, his voice would sound small and shaky. _

_When they reached the door, Kakashi paused. Iruka vaguely wondered what he was waiting for. Then, Kakashi pulled down his mask and brushed his lips against Iruka's while sliding something into his hand. When Kakashi pulled away, Iruka looked down and saw it was a cell phone Kakashi had slipped into his hand._

"_If you can't sleep, call me," Kakashi said. "My home number is the first number in the phone book. You can call me at any time of the night" he added._

_Iruka nodded, dazed. As Kakashi walked back to the car, Iruka realized he'd forgotten all about the movie when Kakashi had kissed him. _

_The car pulled away and Iruka entered the house and went to his room. He was so tired that he just fell on his bed and slept in his clothes._

_As he slept, he dreamed he was about to be exterminated by a werewolf and vampire. He tried to run, but his legs felt like jelly and his feet seemed to stick to the ground. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. Desperately he called for Kakashi but again, no sound came out. Iruka started to panic and looked back just as the werewolf leapt for him, its bloody fangs snapping. _

_Iruka's eyes snapped open and he gasped. Without looking anywhere but the ceiling, Iruka quickly pulled the covers over his head. He tried in vain to block the movie out of his mind. When Iruka thought he saw the form of a werewolf standing over him, its fang's dripping with blood, he started to tremble. Then he remembered Kakashi and the phone. The phone! Iruka fumbled in his pocket for the phone. When he pulled it out he quickly flipped to the phone book and pressed the call button for the first number. As the phone rang, Iruka planned what he was going to say._

"_Kakashi, I'm so sorry for calling you this late, but I can't sleep. I keep thinking about that movie" was what Iruka decided on. After what seemed like eternity the ringing stopped. "Hullo?" came the sleepy answer. There was a pause as Iruka tried to speak. "Kakashi-vampire!" Iruka squeaked. _

_From the other side of the line came a chuckle. _

"_Calm down Iruka I can hear your panicked breathing" Kakashi said. _

"_Sorry!" Iruka squeaked as he tried to slow his breathing. _

"_Good, now, why don't you take your mind off the movie by telling me something about you. How about the best day of your life?" Kakashi suggested. _

"'_Kay" Iruka replied in a shaky breath. Then, he started to tell Kakashi all about the best day of his life. Eventually, Iruka's voice slowed and began to die away as he fell asleep. From the other side of the line came a soft snoring. That night both Iruka and Kakashi fell asleep with their phones next to them; Iruka comforted by Kakashi's light snoring, and Kakashi not as lonely as every other night._

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This was written really quickly and I didn't have much time to edit it so sorry if it sucks.

Review now?Please?


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey readers. Here's another chapter. I hope you enjoy it :). Please review because I love to read my reviews!!**

**A couple things about this chapter. #1: The woman at the beginning of the story is just some random person. #2: I know this is just another random memory but I'll get to the main part of the story eventually so just hang in there!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

A piercing scream echoed through the halls. He paused and glanced around to see where the sound came from. In one of the rooms a woman was sobbing and screaming at a man that lay motionless on a bed.

"You can't leave! Not yet! Not now!" She sobbed. "Gin.Gin. please! Come back! No.no. Giiin!!" She shrieked. As she shrieked the man's name his heart monitor began it's long, high pitched ring.

He looked away, tears filling his eyes again, and resumed his monotonous stumbling walk.

_This had to be the WORST day EVER. All Iruka wanted right now was to be invisible. He could hear the snickers of his fellow classmates as he walked towards his teacher's, Mr. Minamino's, desk to drop off his work. _

_Number one reason why this was such a horrible day was The Rumor. Someone had started a nasty rumor that he, Iruka, was sleeping with Mr. Minamino to get straight A's. Mr. Minamino had somehow heard this rumor and was, as a consequence, failing Iruka. _

_Number two reason was Iruka hadn't seen Kakashi in weeks. The last night he had seen him was on their last date, dinner and a movie, where they officially decided to become a couple. Then, a day later Kakashi called to say he was going on a business trip and he wouldn't be back for awhile. Not only that, but he couldn't have any form of communication whatsoever with Iruka while he was gone._

_Three weeks later: still no Kakashi. _

_It seemed like everyone in the class stared at Iruka as he went to sit back down. Iruka groaned inwardly and slid as low as he possibly could in his seat. _

_Mr. Minamino stood up to assign everyone's homework, but was interrupted by a knock on the door._

"_Come in!" Mr. Minamino called._

_The classroom door was slowly opened and the principle himself stepped in. He quickly walked over towards Mr. Minamino and whispered hurriedly to him. Mr. Minamino nodded a few times and then his eyes locked on Iruka and he nodded again. _

'Noooow what!?' _Iruka inwardly groaned._

_When the principal was done whispering, he hurried out. Now, everyone in the class was on the edge of their seats. What could possibly be so important that the principal himself came here?_

_From the other side of the door came the murmuring of voices. Then someone stepped into the room. Iruka stared. How could?...When did?... There, in front of the whole class stood, Kakashi. Not only that, but he stood there without his mask! Iruka sat, dumfounded._

"_Oh, Iruka, I'm so sorry!" Kakashi said his voice oozing sympathy. _

'…Huh?' _Iruka was totally lost._

_Now the whole class was staring at Iruka. What was this guy doing here and what business did Iruka have with such a handsome looking man?_

_Kakashi quickly hurried to Iruka's side and winked at him. _

'…What?' _Iruka stared at Kakashi. What was he trying to tell him? Kakashi winked at him again. Suddenly Iruka got it, Kakashi wanted him to play along! _

_"W-what's going on?" Iruka said with confusion. Well, he didn't have to act that part. _

"_Iruka, I'm so sorry, but…your mother just died in a car accident. Your father too." Kakashi said softly._

_Iruka stared at him. That was the best he could come up with? Oh, well. Maybe if he played along he could get out of class._

_"W-what? N-no. They would never. Liar!" Iruka accused._

_There were a few snickers in the background, everyone knew, except for the faculty, that Iruka's parents had been dead for years._

_"I'm sorry" Kakashi whispered. _

_"N-no!" Iruka exclaimed making his eyes well with tears._

_Kakashi hugged Iruka close, pretending to comfort him. _

_To make it look good Iruka clutched at Kakashi's shirt and started to sob. "No,no,no" he sobbed._

_"It'll be alright, It'll be ok" Kakashi murmured. "I think it would be best if I took him home" Kakashi said, turning to Mr. Minamino. _

_Mr. Minamino just nodded as Kakashi guided Iruka out the door. After the door shut the class burst into laughter. "Be quiet that is NOT funny!!" They heard Mr. Minamino roar. _

_Kakashi and Iruka broke apart and Iruka wiped the fake tears from his eyes. _

_"When did you get back?" Iruka asked elated that Kakashi was back._

_Kakashi smiled. "Just last night" "C'mon lets go" Kakashi added._

_Iruka folded his arms and pretended to pout. "Where's my "I'm Glad To See You Kiss? And I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what all that was about!" he demanded._

_Kakashi smiled slyly and kissed Iruka senseless. "Missed you too" he murmured when they broke apart. Iruka, flushed and out of breath, smiled. _

_"Now, we're going to a Sledding Tournament with my friends. I needed a partner so I came and got you. So, let's go" Kakashi said towing Iruka towards the exit. _

_"Who all's going?" Iruka asked._

_"Asuma, Kurenia, Anko, Gai, Genma, Raidoh…" Just as Kakashi said "Raidoh" they passed the class Raidoh was currently in. Inside they could hear Genma stating that Raidoh's dog Scruffy had died. Iruka snickered at that. Raidoh wasn't allowed to have any pets and let alone would Raidoh EVER allow someone to call his dog _Scruffy.

_Outside the cold nipped at Iruka, making him shiver. "Don't worry, I'll let you borrow one of my coats" Kakashi assured him seeing Iruka shiver. At last they ended up standing in front of a dark silver Volvo. Iruka stared, stunned. Kakashi must have money if he bought himself a car like this!_

_Kakashi opened the passenger door for Iruka, handing him a coat, hat, and gloves. "You'll need these" he stated. _

_The drive to the sledding contest was held wasn't very long, and when the two arrived they saw that everyone else had beaten them there. After Kakashi opened the door for Iruka and unloaded two sleds from his trunk, Kakashi introduced Iruka to his friends. _

"_This is Iruka, my boyfriend" Kakashi said._

_The woman with the spiky black hair, who introduced herself as Anko, grinned slyly. "So this is him." She stated. "Looks like you haven't lured him to bed yet, he looks too innocent still" she added. _

_Iruka blushed. "Shut up Anko" Kakashi snapped._

"_My rival! You have chosen well! I can see the Spring of Youth flows within him!" the man, Gai, exclaimed. _

_The man, Asuma, walked forward pulled Iruka's face up with his finger. "Cute one you got here Kakashi" He stated._

_Iruka glared and shoved Asuma's hand away. "I'm not some stupid animal. And what's the big deal?" he snapped. _

"_Nothing, except for the fact that Kakashi is usually a loner. He's never had a lover that any of us can remember" Kurenai stated. _

_Iruka blushed and the term "lover". _

"_Alright, let's go" Kakashi said hurriedly. _

_Iruka glanced at Kakashi. It looked as if Kakashi really didn't want to talk about this right now. _

_After everyone reached the top of the steep sledding hill Anko unloaded what appeared to be relay poles from a duffle bag. "Alright! First game, Speed!" she exclaimed. Everyone else gave a small cheer except for Iruka and Raidoh. _

"_Er…how do you play?" Iruka asked. _

"_Three of each of these poles are set in little groups at the bottom of the hill. Each team of two has to retrieve a pole and bring it up here. Whoever retrieves all the poles up here first, wins." Anko explained. "Each team will switch players every time they reach the top of the hill with a pole." Anko added._

"_Sounds simple enough" Iruka muttered. _

"_Oh," Anko said grinning "And there are no rules, anything goes." _

_Iruka had a bad feeling about this. Everyone started to line up. Asuma and Kurenai were one team. Anko and Gai, another. Genma and Raidoh also made up a team. And last but not least, Kakashi and Iruka were a team. _

"_You go first" Kakashi said handing Iruka a sled as people started to line up. "But," Iruka tried to protest._

"_It's just for fun, now hurry and get ready" Kakashi said._

_Iruka nodded and lay down on the sled. He figured that would be the fastest way to go. _

"_On your marks, get set…GO!!" Anko shouted. _

_Iruka pushed off and tried to only focus on what he was doing. He couldn't afford to be distracted by what the others were doing. That is until Genma, in the lane next to Iruka, grabbed Iruka's foot and yanked him off his sled. Iruka, caught by surprise fell off the sled and rolled the rest of the way down the hill. He sat dazed at the bottom of the hill until Kakashi yelled at the top of the hill for him to grab a pole and run back up. So, Iruka grabbed a pole and started his way back up. As he started to gain on Genma (who'd taken Iruka's pause to gain some distance between them) Iruka got an idea. If Genma was going to play dirty so was he! Iruka swung his sled at the back Genma's knees. The sled hit Genma's knees with such a force that it knocked him off his feet. Iruka ran by Genma, who was now rolling down the hill cursing, and heard Kakashi cheer. As he reached the top Iruka shoved the sled at Kakashi and shouted "Go!" to him. Kakashi sled down the hill on his feet as if he was snowboarding, and knocked Gai out of his place in the lead. Iruka cheered him on. _

_After Kakashi made it back to the top, Iruka grabbed the sled and raced back down. At the bottom he grabbed the last pole and started to run back up. Halfway up the hill he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Genma trip and grab at Iruka's ankle. With a yelp Iruka went down too. _

"_Oh no you don't!" Genma growled. "I won't let you win!"_

"_Let.Go.Of.Me!" Iruka said through gritted teeth, trying to pull Genma's hand off his ankle. _

_At this rate they were going to lose the lead! Iruka realized he was never going to get Genma's hand off. Unless…Iruka grabbed the pole and started to hit Genma over the head with it. From the top of the hill Iruka heard Kakashi laugh and cheer him on. Genma released Iruka's ankle and Iruka scrambled the rest of the way up the hill to victory. "We won!" Iruka beamed at Kakashi. _

_Kakashi grinned and kissed Iruka passionately. There were a couple of whistles from Kakashi's friends. "Knew you could do it" Kakashi murmured. _

_After that, similar games were played; all as ruthless and fun as the first game. As the sun began to set, everyone sat at the top of the hill to watch. Kakashi pulled Iruka in close and kissed him. Iruka smiled at Kakashi, then turned to gaze at the bright yellow orange sky. "It's beautiful" Iruka exclaimed. _

"_Not as beautiful as you" Kakashi murmured. _

_Iruka blushed and turned to kiss Kakashi. "I wish it could always be like this. You and me, forever" Iruka whispered._

"_Forever it is then" Kakashi murmured back._

**Review? Please? :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. Sorry about not updating for so long. I've been visiting colleges lately and it's taken up some time. I hope you like the chapter. Please review. It's depressing when I don't receive very many reviews :(. Especially on my story Days, no matter what I do no one will review it! It's so frustrating! Anyway, enjoy! :)**

He stood mindlessly in front of the elevator, waiting. When the doors opened he stepped inside and numbly pressed the button for the first floor. A small whimper sounded and he glanced toward the sound, noticing a young woman and her newborn baby for the first time. The woman caught his eyes and smiled at him, but it vanished when she saw the dead, dull expression in his eyes. The doors opened, then, and the young woman hurried out, glad to escape the air of death that surrounded him.

As the doors began to close, he caught a glimpse of a man with silvery blue hair. His heart seemed to stop. Horror, no, sheer terror began to seep through his every being. A scream was caught in his throat. Then the man turned as the doors closed. He sank to his knees, weak with relief. He'd been hallucinating. It hadn't been the man he thought it was.

_Iruka gazed at the display of fancy watches and sighed. What in the world was he supposed to give Kakashi for Christmas? He couldn't buy anything for Kakashi's house because it was a freaking mansion that already had everything. He couldn't buy anything for Kakashi's dogs because according to Kakashi they were "picky". He couldn't even buy anything for the man himself because he already owned everything! Iruka growled in frustration and turned to go home. It was hopeless._

_That's when Iruka spotted the insanely long line of men standing in front of the bookstore. He paused and glanced at the line, wondering what could possibly be great enough for all these men to be standing in the freezing cold weather. Then he spotted the thirty foot poster plastered to the inside of the shop window that read "FINALLY OUT!! MAKE OUT PARADISE VOLUME 27! COME AND GET YOUR COPY NOW!"_

_Iruka snorted. So _that _was why there were so many men standing in line. Typical. Then Iruka remembered that Kakashi read those novels and had talked about nothing else for the past week. Iruka groaned. He really did NOT want to be seen waiting in line for one of_ those _books, but it was the only thing he could think of that Kakashi didn't already have. Iruka sighed and grimaced as he got in line for one of the dirty novels. _

_An hour later Iruka was standing just outside the door when Raidoh walked out holding one of the novels. Iruka stared. "Raidoh?!" Iruka asked incredulously._

_Raidoh froze, as if caught, and a blush started to creep over his face when he spotted Iruka. "I-Iruka w-what are you doing here?" he stammered, embarrassed._

_Now it was Iruka's turn to blush. "I…well…Kakashi reads these books and I thought it would be a good Christmas present" _

_Raidoh smiled sheepishly. "Genma reads them too. I guess I had the same idea" "Well, I should go. I'll see you later?" Raidoh asked._

"_Yeah, later" Iruka said. _

_As Raidoh walked away, Iruka turned to stand back in line. _

"_Iruka!?" came an incredulous voice._

_Iruka groaned. Oh no. Not him. Not _now. _Iruka turned to see the surprised yet delighted face of none other than Kakashi himself. _

"_I never knew you were into these books!" Kakashi said eagerly. A little_ too_eagerly Iruka thought._

"_I'm not!" Iruka snapped. Then he spotted the book Kakashi was holding and his face fell as he realized that yet another Christmas gift idea was ruined. He must have appeared utterly miserable because Kakashi's eagerness suddenly faded and he looked concerned. "What's wrong Ruka?" he asked._

"_Nothing, just can't find you anything for Christmas" Iruka muttered. _

_Kakashi looked thoughtful for a minute. "I know what you can do for me for Christmas" Kakashi said. "Come over and spend it with me. You can help me decorate my house Christmas Eve Day and spend the night."_

_Iruka smiled; finally there was something he could do for Kakashi for Christmas._

_Christmas Eve Day, Kakashi picked Iruka up. Iruka panicked the whole way to Kakashi's house. They hadn't actually slept together yet and Iruka didn't know if he was ready for that. But when they arrived at the mansion, Kakashi put Iruka's things in the guest bedroom and told him that was where he could sleep. Iruka was relieved yet disappointed that they weren't going to sleep together. He knew he wasn't ready for that, but it didn't stop him from wanting it._

_Kakashi led Iruka up to the attic and explained to him that this was where he kept all the Christmas decorations. Iruka looked at all the boxes labeled "Christmas". They were all covered in thick dust, revealing that these boxes hadn't been touched in years. When Iruka asked why, Kakashi's reply was. "After my mother died and my father left, I never really took them out again."_

_After a moment of silence Iruka shifted nervously. "Well, what should we do first?"_

_Kakashi "hm'd". "Well, maybe we should start with the tree first" he suggested._

_Carrying the tree down to the living room proved hard, but setting it up was impossible. First, when they carried the tree down the stairs, the bottom of the box broke and all the pieces of the tree proceeded to fall down the stairs, leaving behind a trail of pine needles. Then, the dogs thought they had discovered a great new toy and ran off, dragging the pieces of tree with them. After they managed to chase down the dogs and get back all the pieces of the tree, they started to put together the stand. Then they stacked all the branches and finally had what resembled a tree._

_Kakashi then brought down the ornaments for the tree and he and Iruka proceeded to put them on the tree. First they put on the lights and tinsel (which included a perverted remark from Kakashi about wanting to see Iruka wrapped in the tinsel). When they began to hang the icicles on the tree, Kakashi's dogs started to grab them off the tree and chew the glass icicles into pieces. As Iruka cleaned up the glass and Kakashi checked the dog's mouths for bleeding, Kakashi swore and muttered something about idiot dogs. Then Iruka stabbed himself with a hook from an ornament and started to bleed. After Iruka stopped the bleeding, Kakashi insisted he kiss it better and proceeded to suck on Iruka's finger. Iruka jerked his hand back, blushing, and called Kakashi a pervert, to which Kakashi just grinned. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the tree was put together and Kakashi and Iruka shared a victory kiss. While there backs were turned the dogs jumped up and grabbed the gingerbread men off the tree. By the time Kakashi and Iruka noticed, the only evidence left were the crumbs on the dogs' faces._

_Everything else went smoothly. The light up reindeer in the front yard lit up beautifully. Mistletoe was hung on every inch of the house. Kakashi's old stockings were hung above the fireplace (along with new ones for Iruka and the dogs) and Kakashi fixed the greatest dinner Iruka had ever had._

_Later the two cuddled in front of the fireplace enjoying the calming crackling of the fire. "Iruka?" Kakashi asked quietly._

"_Hmm?" Iruka replied, feeling sleepy._

"_Thank you" Kakashi murmured._

_Iruka smiled sleepily and kissed Kakashi. "You're welcome" he murmured back. _

_Within minutes Iruka drifted into a half sleep and Kakashi picked him up and carried him to the guest room. There he laid Iruka on the bed and kissed him goodnight. Iruka, too tired to kiss back, just laid there and drifted off to sleep._

_In the middle of the night Iruka woke with a start and as much as he tried, he couldn't fall back asleep. After an hour of attempting to resume sleeping, Iruka sighed and hopped to his feet. Quietly he shuffled down the hall to Kakashi's room. Iruka stopped just outside the door and listened. Inside was completely quiet. Slowly, praying it wouldn't squeak, Iruka eased open the door. Inside Iruka saw Kakashi lift his head up and gaze at him sleepily. Iruka kicked himself mentally for waking him. _

"_Ruka?" Kakashi asked sleepily. "You ok?"_

_Iruka nodded and shifted nervously. "I just couldn't sleep" he murmured._

_Kakashi smiled sleepily and lifted the covers. "Come 'ere. You can sleep with me" he said nodding for Iruka to join him._

_Iruka shuffled over to the bed and snuggled in next to Kakashi. Kakashi pulled him close and sighed with content. After a few minutes of silence Kakashi murmured "I love you"_

_Iruka froze, shocked. Then he relaxed and murmured an "I love you too" back. _

**Well? What did you think? If you have any suggestions on how I might improve my writing please share them! Thanks alot to those who do review and have been reviewing! I appreciate it! :)**

**So...review now? Please? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey readers here's a new chapter. I want to thank you for all the reviews I received last chapter!! XD I was so happy I just about died when I received fourteen emails of reviews!! As usual, constructive criticism would be HELPFUL!! **

**Enjoy!**

The elevator doors opened and he stumbled out. He looked numbly around, searching for direction. His eyes caught on a small child. A young woman held the small boy in her arms as they both gazed anxiously around. He was the spitting image of Naruto. Then, a man limped towards them dressed in a hospital gown. The little boy's face lit up and he struggled out of his mother's arms. He ran to the man, laughing, and the man grinned and scooped the boy into his arms.

His breath hitched and he looked away. The life that could have been.

_Iruka was nervous._ _It was Easter and he made plans with Kakashi. They were supposed to eat lunch, take a walk in the park, and eat dinner together. Problem was, it was Thursday. _

_Just then, the phone rang. Iruka, dreading the results, answered it. _

_"Hello?"_

_"Iruka, you called?" answered the smooth, calm voice of Kakashi._

_"Um, yeah. I'm sorry but I have to cancel our plans for today" Iruka replied._

_"Hm. How come?"_

_Iruka paused. How was he supposed to put this? "I'm sorry, but I made a promise to someone awhile ago to help out at this foster home on Easter and I really can't let them down." Iruka stated._

_"Oh, well I can help out too then"_

_"Oh, ok, are you sure?" Iruka asked._

_"Yeah. Why not? I'll come by and pick you up in an hour" _

_"Alright, see you then" Iruka replied and hung up. _

_An hour later Kakashi picked Iruka up. Iruka guided Kakashi to the foster home and as they came closer and closer to the home, Iruka grew more and more nervous. _

_Finally, they arrived at a huge three story home. _

_"Nice place" Kakashi commented as he opened the door for Iruka. _

_"Yeah, this place manages to house at least twelve kids." Iruka replied as they walked up the path to the home. "There's an Easter egg hunt today, so even more kids will be here" he added._

_Suddenly the door to the home burst open and a whirlwind of blonde hair raced down the steps and slammed into Iruka. _

_"Iruka! Iruka! You came!" the boy exclaimed loudly, grinning and hugging Iruka. _

_Iruka laughed. "Glad to see you, too, Naruto" he said smiling down at the boy._

_Abruptly the boy's mood changed and he stuck his lower lip out in a pout. "You didn't come to see me last week" he accused._

_"I'm sorry, I was on a date" Iruka said, scratching his scar sheepishly._

_That's when Naruto noticed Kakashi. He pointed accusingly at him. "Is that who you were with last week?" he asked Iruka, still pouting._

_"Yes" Iruka replied._

_Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kakashi. _

_"Naruto!" Iruka scolded. "That's not nice!"_

_Naruto just scowled at Iruka. Then he turned to Kakashi. _

_"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he exclaimed pointing and himself. "And Iruka's mine because he promised to take me home one day so we could be a family! And don't you forget that!"_

_Iruka froze. There it was. The bombshell had been dropped. The thing that could either destroy or strengthen his and Kakashi's relationship. Iruka glanced at Kakashi to see his reaction. As usual, Kakashi's face was a mask._

_"Really. And how old are you?" Kakashi asked._

_Naruto paused and looked at his fingers. Slowly he counted out four and held them up for Kakashi to see._

_"Hn" was Kakashi's reply._

_Just then a young lady poked her head around the door. "Iruka, we're going to start the Easter egg hunt now. Could you help pass out the baskets?" she asked._

_"Uh, sure! I'll be right there" Iruka replied. He glanced at Kakashi again. His face was still unreadable. Iruka felt slightly sick. The rest of the day would test how strong their relationship really was._

_After Iruka made sure everyone had a basket, the kids were released into the backyard. The adults sat watching as each child scrambled around, searching for Easter eggs. After all the eggs were found, one of the helpers announced a prize would go to the person with the most eggs. With that the children sat down in the living room and began to eagerly count their eggs. Naruto raced over to Iruka._

_"Iruka! I already counted! I have twenty eggs!" he said eagerly, holding up the basket for Iruka to see._

_"Oh, yeah?" said a cool voice. "I have twenty one"_

_Naruto whirled around to scowl at a small boy with pitch black hair and coal black eyes. "Do not! You said you only had twenty!" _

_"Yeah, well, now I have twenty one" the boy stated coolly. _

_One of the helpers frowned. "That's not possible. There were exactly one hundred and fifty eggs. All the other kids counted there eggs. One of you should only have nineteen if the other has twenty one" she said._

_"Naruto, are you sure you counted right?" Iruka asked._

_"I'm sure!" Naruto exclaimed._

_Iruka sighed. "Well, count them again, just in case" _

_Naruto sat down and counted them out. As he put the last egg in the basket, he frowned. "Twenty" he muttered. _

_"See, you just counted wrong" Iruka said._

_"But I _had _twenty one!" Naruto insisted. _

_"Told you. I win" said the boy with the dark hair._

_Naruto looked up at the boy who stood with his arms crossed, smirking. Naruto's eyes widened. "You!" Naruto accused standing up. "You took my egg. Give it back, Sasuke!!" he demanded angrily._

_A look of defiance crossed the boy with the dark hair's face. "No."_

_"Y-you!" Naruto sputtered. He dove at Sasuke, taking a hold of the boy's bangs and yanking them. "Give them BACK!!" Naruto shouted._

_Sasuke snarled and started to hit Naruto. "No!"_

_With one giant yank, Naruto threw Sasuke on the ground and jumped on top of him. ".Back!" he demanded hitting Sasuke._

_"Naruto!" Iruka exclaimed incredulously, pulling him off Sasuke._

_"We do not hit! And we do NOT start fights!" Iruka scolded. _

_"But Iruka, he took my egg" Naruto whined, pointing at Sasuke._

_"That is no reason to start hitting him! You could have asked nicely for it!" Iruka exclaimed. _

_"But-"Naruto protested._

_"No buts! Now go stand and face the wall!" Iruka demanded pointing to the corner. _

_Sasuke smirked again. _

_"That means you too mister! You're not allowed to hit either!" Iruka added._

_Sasuke's smirk disappeared and he walked off to stand by Naruto._

_Iruka turned to Kakashi and scratched his scar nervously. "I'm sorry about that. I was hoping he'd make a good impression" he admitted._

_"Maa. Kids will be kids." Kakashi said, shrugging._

_The rest of the kids left with the helpers to play games in the other room. Naruto and Sasuke were told to stay and face the wall as punishment for their fighting. Iruka was appointed to stay and watch the two carry out their punishment. _

_Iruka turned to Kakashi. "Did you ever have any siblings?" he asked._

_"No." Kakashi said. An awkward silence followed. _

_Iruka shifted nervously. Kakashi was never usually this silent. He wondered what the older man was thinking. Just as Iruka was about to attempt small talk again, a woman poked her head into the room. _

_"I'm sorry to bother you Iruka, but one of the kids had an accident. Could you grab a pair of pants from upstairs for me?" she asked._

_"Um…sure" Iruka replied. _

_"Thanks!" the woman said, disappearing._

_Iruka turned to Kakashi again. "Could you watch Naruto for a minute while I go upstairs?" he asked._

_"Sure." Kakashi replied, pulling out his book to read._

_"Thanks" Iruka said as he left._

_After he grabbed the pants and gave them to the woman, Iruka headed back downstairs. At the door, he paused. Naruto had left the corner and was standing by Kakashi, pulling at the man's leg and saying something. Iruka hid behind the wall, curious to see how this would play out._

_Kakashilooked up from his book and down at the boy. He said something to Naruto and Naruto folded his arms and pouted. Iruka smiled, Naruto was trying to get Kakashi to play. Kakashisighed and put his book away. Then he squatted down in front of Naruto and pulled a coin out of Naruto's ear. Naruto's eyes went wide and he jumped up and down demanding for Kakashi to do the trick again. Iruka saw Kakashi smile behind his mask. He did the trick again, this time pulling the coin from Naruto's nose. Naruto stared open mouthed at Kakashi. Kakashi laughed and gave the coin to Naruto. Iruka entered the room silently, standing by the door with his arms crossed and a smile on his lips. Kakashi glanced up and smiled at Iruka._

_"Kakashi! Kakashi! Read me this book! Pleeeaaassse?" Naruto pleaded, jumping up and down in front of Kakashi, holding a book._

_"Uuuum. Sure." Kakashisaid, grabbing the book._

_Delighted, Naruto sat down in front of Kakashi, waiting for him to start. _

_"Sasuke, why don't you join us?" Iruka said as he joined Kakashi and Naruto. _

_Hesitantly, the boy left his place in the corner to sit by Naruto._

_As Kakashi's voice droned on, Iruka wondered if introducing Naruto had made their relationship stronger or weaker. Kakashi looked up at Iruka as he read and smiled. Then, Iruka knew. _

**Review now? Please? Thanks to those who do review!! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys. Sorry, but I really needed to end this story. I had it all planned out in my mind at the beginging, but now it feels as if I have ruined it. This is the original ending to the story. Don't hate me. It was the way I always had planned it to end.**

He stumbled through the doors and onto the sidewalk. Thunder rumbled through the darkened skies and rain poured down, soaking him instantly. Ignoring it he stumbled on. The memories flooded through his mind; now coming in quick succession.

_The night Kakashi proposed. A night to remember. He had proposed the place they first met, the coffee shop. As they sat and talked he suddenly got up and stepped down on one knee. _

_"Will you marry me Iruka?" _

He tripped. As he fell the ring slipped off his hand and rolled away. Numbly, he stared after it.

_The wedding. Oh god, the wedding. It was anything and everything he could have ever wanted. Of course he had no parents and his aunt was not willing to attend, so Raidou had walked him down the aisle. As they stood ready to give their vows, Iruka bit his lip trying, and failing, to hold back tears. Kakashi, standing across from him, smiled and wiped them away._

Pushing himself up he staggered on.

_A week later they brought Naruto home. Iruka couldn't help but grin as Kakashi led the excited Naruto through the house, showing him everything that was now his. From that day on, they were a true family._

He stumbled off the curb and came to a halt in the middle of the road. Looking up into the sky, tears cascaded down his cheeks.

"Why?" He whispered shakily. "Why?"

_Then that fateful night. The night that would change their lives forever. Kakashi had woken Iruka up in the middle of the night. Iruka, groggy from just having woke up, asked "What's going on? Is everything alright?"_

_Kakashi just shushed him and started to search the wall for something. Outside Iruka heard a car door slam. Kakashi cursed and finally pushed something on the wall. A door opened revealing a small secret room. Iruka stared, dumbfounded. He asked Kakashi since when did he have a secret room. Kakashi just shushed him again and pushed him into the room. _

_"What's going on!?" Iruka asked. When Kakashi didn't respond Iruka tried again, this time more persistent. Kakashi hesitated. _

_"Kakashi!" Iruka demanded, now fully awake._

_Kakashi shook his head and made a motion for Iruka to be silent. The sound of a gunshot was heard. Iruka nearly jumped out of his skin. What was going on!? _

_"Stay in here, do NOT make any noise!" Kakashi whispered._

_"Kakashi, what about Naruto?" Iruka asked frantically. _

_Kakashi cursed again and ran to Naruto's room. There were shouts from the people downstairs as they heard Kakashi run. He returned quickly and shoved Naruto into Iruka's arms. "No noise" he hissed before slamming the door closed._

_Just then the bedroom door slammed open and a group of men stalked in. They all held guns. The man in the front held out his hand as the other men raised guns to shoot. He had strikingly silver blue hair and was well built. "Don't" he growled. "I will" and with that the man raised his gun and shot Kakashi once, in the heart. _

_Iruka jumped and was about to scream when he remembered what Kakashi had said. _

_"Where is he? Where are his husband and son?" The man with the silver blue hair growled. _

_"I heard a door slam on the way in. They must have escaped out the back" one of the other men said._

_As the men stalked out of the room and left the house, Naruto began to cry. Iruka shoved the door open and ran to Kakashi. _

The sound of screeching tires reached his ears and he slowly looked toward the sound. A car rounded the corner and sped up.

_The doctors said there was only a small chance he could make it. He was barely alive when Iruka walked into his room to see him. The steady beeps coming from the heart monitor were too slow._

_"Kakashi" Iruka whispered in a shaky voice. "You have to make it"_

_Just then the heart monitor went dead and the machine let out a never ending high pitched sound._

_Iruka stared and then panicked. He called frantically for the nurses. Grabbing the front of Kakashi's shirt he demanded for him to wake up. Kakashi wouldn't listen, so Iruka climbed up on the bed and shook Kakashi harder and yelled at him to wake up. He couldn't just leave him like this! Finally the nurses arrived and pulled him off Kakashi. They shook their heads sadly and pulled the plug. The long high pitched sound ceased. It was over. _

Iruka knew it was them. They were in that car. They had found him. He didn't care, though. In fact, he smiled. Finally. Finally he would be able to be with Him.

It hit him so fast it didn't hurt. Then its tires screeched as it made its getaway. Everything around him was fading. He vaguely heard shouts of panic behind him. But he still smiled, because there He was. Standing before him. Offering him His hand.

"Don't be afraid" He said.

"I'm not" Iruka replied, taking his hand.

And with that they left all their memories behind.


End file.
